Gay hunting season in Russia: Shocking documentary everyone should see

If you only watch one TV show this week, make it Channel 4's look at Russian homophobia.

With the Winter Olympics starting in Sochi on Friday (February 7), we're all going to be seeing a lot more of Russia on the TV over the next couple of weeks.

However, what won't be shown while we're scratching our heads at the curling is the brutal treatment of the LGBT community in Russia, where some gay people are currently being hunted down like animals.

Liz Mackean's new Dispatches documentary, Hunted, is a bleak and brutal depiction of what life is really like in Russia for the gay community right now. Airing tonight on Channel 4, it's a documentary that will make British viewers extremely uncomfortable.

"Only 1% of the gay population dares to live openly," says Mackean. "I think it just shows where the problem is. There is a problem with visibility. Most Russians don't know a gay person and all those old problems and connections with pedophilia and homosexuality being a danger to children, there is nothing to break that up."

New propaganda laws introduced by Vladimir Putin may in theory not be a ban on "non-traditional sexual relationships", but the reality is that their implementation has driven the gay community underground and legitimised vigilante groups who are attacking, humiliating and abusing their victims in what Mackean describes as "a wave of terror".

A trend for capturing gay men and then filming them being tortured and posting the videos online to shame them is continually growing. These groups, who claim that they are based around family values and shaming paedophiles, are shown in Hunted luring a gay man to their flat using social media.

When he arrives, they pin him down, physically attack him and reduce him to tears on camera. The only thing that appears to save him from more horrendous treatment is the presence of the Hunted director Ben Steele, who captures the whole process on film.

"I found myself unable to look around the room apart from through the camera lens," said Steele.

"I could only be there to document it and show the rest of the world what it was like. I was also aware that in some weird way, I was the victim's protector and that things would turn out worse for the guy if I wasn't there."

More extreme and disturbing treatment shown in Hunted include men being stripped naked, having urine poured over them, extreme violence and tearful interviews from victims with guns being pointed at them.

Steele confessed that he went into a "pretty depressed state" after filming with the hunting groups and witnessing "an environment where that is the norm and that hatred is everywhere".

Perhaps the most shocking element of the whole documentary is the brazen nature of the attackers. They were happy to be filmed for the documentary because they wanted to let the world know what they are doing and they are openly proud about it. Nobody covers their faces or doesn't want to be identified. There is no fear of repercussions, even for the most sinister actions.

"They think they're doing a good thing," said Steele. "It's one of the terrifying things about it. They don't think they're the baddies. We're the crazy deranged Westerners. What can you say to that?"

The LGBT community in Russia isn't backing some calls for a boycott of the Olympics. They don't want to be held responsible for disrupting an event that Russia is proud to be holding and have that used against them by those seeking to further strengthen the legal rulings on "non-traditional sexual relationships".

However, what Hunted and British campaigners can hopefully contribute towards is long-term pressure on the Russian authorities and vocal support for the gay community. Hopefully, when the cameras switch off at the end of the Winter Olympics, we won't forget about the dark underbelly of Russia.

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